How is Jesus the "Messiah- descendant of David" ?

[christiannehme]

Greetings,

I’ve been wondering about this issue for a while now and figured the best solution would be to post it in a forum.

Seventeen verses in the New Testament describe Jesus as the “son of David.” But the question then becomes, how could Jesus be the son of David if David lived approximately 1,000 years before Jesus? I understand that Christ (the Messiah) was the fulfillment of the prophecy of the seed of David (2 Samuel 7:14–16). Jesus is the promised Messiah, which means He had to be of the lineage of David. Matthew 1 gives the genealogical proof that Jesus, in His humanity, was a direct descendant of Abraham and David through Joseph, Jesus’ legal father.

However, since the bible says that Mary our Mother is a virgin (Through the Holy Spirit, God planted Jesus in her womb), it’s evident that Joseph’s “genes” are not passed onto Jesus as he is not Jesus’ biological father, only legal father in terms of the law at the time. If Joseph, descendent of David, descendant of Adam, is not the biological father of Jesus, how is Jesus then the “Messiah- descendant of David” ?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Augusta_Crowley]

The following links should assist you in better understanding the Catholic Church’s teaching on Jesus’ geneology. If you have any further questions or concerns that are not answered by these links, please [contact Catholic Answers (http://www.catholic.com/home/contact.asp) directly.

**Recommended Reading:

• [If Joseph isn’t Jesus’ father, how can Jesus be the Son of David? (http://forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=44804)
• [**Do we know for certain the Blessed Mother’s lineage? ** (http://forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=113589)
• [Do we know Jesus’ genealogy? (http://forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=11294) **